Stored or Binned, Who Knows?
by Cloud-Dreamer
Summary: Each chapter is either a story scene or an incomplete story in itself that I am blocked on when it comes to writing more material. For the readers enjoyment but be warned that these are not likely to ever be finished.
1. Afterwards R HP scene

**_Stored or binned, who knows?_**

By Cloud Dreamer

Foreword:

Each of these next chapters represents a story fragment or incomplete story that I was unable to complete or work on any further. Rather than have them gather electronic dust on my hard drive, I have chosen to post them here as chapters so that interested readers may peruse them for their possible enjoyment or for ideas to help their own stories. Due to heart problems and my age, I admit that I am unlikely to work on them in the future.

Enjoy and take care, Cloud Dreamer

This first 'chapter' was a scene for a Ranma/Harry Potter crossover that I envisioned but never got around to writing, well, except for this one scene that would have been near the end of the story. I have to admit that a story by 'muishiki' may have inspired some details. I do recommend 'What's in a Name'.

_A Ranma fan fiction_

Started20 August 2007

Completed - pending

Last revised 20 August 2007

Reason first draft

__

Disclaimer: Ranma and all associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and are used without permission. This fan-fiction isn't intended for commercial use but is rather a tribute to the Ranma universe.

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**_Afterwards _**_By Cloud Dreamer_

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Ranma-chan bemusedly watched the year old baby girl as she nursed. Her twin brother squalled as her husband changed him after successfully burping him first. 'Nine years,' she wondered to herself. 'Nine years since we married, then two years later twin sons arrived; twin sons with dark ginger hair with curls that masked the fact that they had inherited her husband's unruly locks.' She glanced down toward the baby girl who cooed back at her with a wide toothless grin, green eyes bright. She smiled back and gently raised the child to her shoulder and began the age-old burping ceremony. She sighed as her mind wandered again. 'It was odd how each of the three sets of twins each had one child with her husband's green eyes while the other child had her blue eyes.' About that time the second set of twins thundered into the room, scarlet locks flying behind the twin four year old girls.

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Harry studied the picture, checking to ensure it contained no details that could enable someone to locate his family. He sighed, then carefully disillusioned himself and walked several blocks before entering the traditional Japanese home of one Genma and Nodoka Saotome. He had already determined that they were absent, visiting the Tendou's as was fairly common for them. He placed the photo on the dining table before pulling out a portkey and vanishing back home to his own family.

Several hours later Genma and Nodoka returned home but froze in shock at the photo they found on the table. Genma snarled, "I thought we killed her!"

"Apparently not," whispered Nodoka, "somehow I am not surprised that she would do something dishonorable such as not die."

She frowned as she noticed the six children surrounding the couple who had their arms around each other. The man she did not know but the woman had once been her son.

Flipping the photo over, she read the careful calligraphy with a blank face.

It said, _"Know this Genma and Nodoka Saotome, my husband honors me and because of that, my own honor is now complete and untarnished. These six children we call our own and they will never call you grandmother or grandfather. The scars on my mind and body ensure that you will never have the chance to hurt them as you have done to me. They will learn nothing of the Saotome family nor will I teach them 'anything goes'. You are dead to me and mine."_

Genma growled low in his throat, "She can't do that! The school must continue on!"

Nodoka's face was flushed with rage to think that her grandchildren would know nothing of their honorable family.

"Tofu and Cologne lied to us." She paused and continued, "They prevented her from dying as honor demanded." Nodoka decisively stated, "We must contact them and force them to tell us how to rescue our grandchildren."

Genma grimaced, "That might not be doable considering both are well beyond our ability to demand anything from." He paused and added, "The master is the only one with the necessary skill to even have a chance at succeeding at that."

"Then we will enlist his aid."

Genma shrugged and replied, "I don't think he cares. As long as she isn't teaching his school he will do nothing."

Nodoka thought a moment then smirked, "Then that is what we will tell him." She looked at the note again and said, "All that is needed is to change a single word; change 'nor' to 'but' and it will seem she is taunting his authority.

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Nodoka snarled at her crouching husband, "Well! Is there any news? It's been fifteen years since Ranma sent that picture. I know Australia is large but surely they would have been found by now?"

She glanced at the now worn photo kept in a frame on the wall. For just a moment she wondered if the distant image of a kangaroo in the window off to the side of the posing family was an oversight or intentional misdirection.

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C & C to Cloud Dreamer

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	2. Another Path

_A Ranma fan/Harry Potter crossover fan fiction_

Started2 February 2007

Completed - pending

Last revised 2 February 2007

Reason first draft

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Disclaimer: Ranma and all associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and are used without permission. Harry Potter and all associated characters are the property Ms. Rowling's and are used without permission. This fan-fiction isn't intended for commercial use but is rather a tribute to both the Harry Potter and the Ranma universe.

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**Another Path**_ By Cloud Dreamer_

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**_Prologue Ryouga's Revenge_**

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"Ryouga! I'm gonna kill ya for destroying those aging mushrooms!" yelled the now six year old Ranma as the child chased after the laughing teen. Ranma leapt onto the young man's backpack and held on as vertigo assailed him when the scenery abruptly changed several times in a row as his foe fled chortling all the while about how he had finally gotten revenge.

One swift turn later and Ranma fell off and dizzily watched Ryouga vanish around a corner, literally.

"You alright?" hesitantly asked a green eyed boy about his same apparent age.

Ranma's understanding of English was just sufficient to understand the simple question so he merely nodded.

"My name is Harry," the boy said with a hesitant smile.

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**_Chapter One Friends_**

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Ranma sighed as he responded to the hesitant overtures of the younger child. "I Ranma," he haltingly said in badly accented English. Ranma may have been sixteen, nearly seventeen less than a month ago but physically he was now only six years old and despite any bravado he might want to delude himself with; he knew he was in deep trouble.

He recognized the landscape, the architecture, the signs and the language. He was back in England. It didn't matter if he went east or west; either way, home was on the opposite side of the globe from here. He was stuck. "I wonder if 'V-chan' is still here?" he murmured to himself.

Ranma frowned; he was getting mixed signals from the other boy. The child was broadcasting a mix of hope and fear. Ranma smiled slightly at the boy as he quickly studied him. Internally he frowned as his heightened senses told him the child was in pain but striving to ignore and conceal it.

One of the things that Ranma had been gradually coping with as a result of getting some self healing training from Doc Tofu was understanding the difference between martial arts training and child abuse. Doc Tofu had used examples from Ranma's own training trip to make some of his points. Ranma had finally admitted to himself that he was in fact an abused child; both physically and emotionally.

Making the admission to himself had allowed him to release a lot of pent-up emotion that had once fueled so many of his nightmares in the past. There was no way he'd ever make that same admission to anybody else but realizing that it had happened to him had resulted in generating a fierce protectiveness toward any abused child he encountered.

Despite his own problems, Ranma was hesitant to leave the other boy alone. The bruises he could see on the child despite his baggy ill fitting clothing made the martial artist want to protect the other boy. Ranma smiled warmly and asked, "Friends want be?" as he held out his hand in the western manner that he recalled from his last visit to England several years ago. In fact it was just before he and Genma had made their ill-fated trip to China.

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Harry warily watched the other boy. Arriving by piggyback was odd in itself but Harry had never met an Asian before given his limited social life. Some of his tension released when the other boy asked to be friends even if the wording was awkward.

He gratefully shook the other boy's hand and shyly stuttered his acceptance. "Ye . . ., yeah, I'd li . . . like that." The two boys shook hands quickly and then stood there in silence awkwardly before the green-eyed one asked the newcomer, "Ah, where do you live?"

The Asian boy sighed and grumbled, "I lost, friends far away. I all alone."

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C & C to Cloud Dreamer

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	3. Cost of a Yattai

_A Ranma fan fiction_

Started 20 September 2004

Completed - pending

Last revised n/a

Reason first draft

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Disclaimer: Ranma and all associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and are used without permission. This fan-fiction isn't intended for commercial use but is rather a tribute to the Ranma universe.

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**_Cost of a Yattai_**_ By Cloud Dreamer_

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**_Prologue A Slight Change_**

Ukyou sat beside the road and sobbed while occasionally moaning, "Why didn't you take me with you Ran-chan. You jackass! Why . . ." She paused again a moment later to wipe some of the snot dribbling down her face with her sleeve when a hand appeared before her offering a soft rag. Her eyes followed the hand upward and she exclaimed "Uncle Toby!"

Said uncle smiled at her and gently wiped her face of tears and other stuff before embracing her as he picked her up. She promptly broke down again and wailed briefly into his shoulder before finally lapsing into an exhausted sleep.

The next morning Ukyou hesitantly explained to her uncle Toby what had befallen her as he carried her back home.

After dropping her off at her father's home, Toby fumed over what had happened to Ukyou.

Unlike either Ukyou or her father, Toby did not blame the young boy involved but placed all the blame on Ranma's father.

Deciding to do what he could do to spoil Genma's plans, Toby put the 'word' out about Genma on the okonomiyaki vendor's network.

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Genma lunged forward and nabbed the alley cat but just as he was about to stuff it in the bag with the others, a small spatula shuriken snicked' into the wooden fence where his head had been a few moments before. Genma tossed the half filled bag of cats onto his attacker and made his escape while the burly man in the traditional uniform of an okonomiyaki vendor was fending off the angry cats. Neither of them noticed the booklet of banned training techniques that fluttered to the ground as Genma fled the scene closely followed by his unknown assailant.

"Where the hell am I now?" bellowed out a stocky man in the alley moments after both Genma and his assailant had left. "Humm," he murmured as he picked up a booklet on the ground, "I wonder what this is about. Oh, looks interesting, I wonder if little Ryouga would want to learn this? Oh well, I'll read the rest later."

"Damn Kuonji!" snarled Genma as he abandoned his third attempt to prepare the training pit necessary to teach Ranma the Neko-fist. "Why is he so upset that he set all his buddies onto me?" Genma wondered aloud. "I mean it was just an okonomiyaki yattai. It's not like I hurt anybody." He suspected every okonomiyaki vendor on the island was out for his blood based on his experiences these past several months. Genma grimaced and muttered, "If this keeps up, I'll never get that worthless boy of mine trained." He sighed as if unjustly persecuted and decided "Maybe if we left Japan for a year or so, then maybe the heat will die down."

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**_Chapter - One - China dolls_**

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Genma grumbled to himself as he trudged onward through the mud. Not only had he misplaced that book before he had read just _how_ to teach the cat-fist but the trip through China was not turning out as he had planned either. He paused as he looked at this latest training ground Jusenkyo it was called according to his Chinese training guide book. He sighed; maybe he should have swiped, ah, borrowed the one with a Japanese translation.

"Boy . . ., never mind," Genma continued as he realized that the poles in the pools were both too high and spaced too far apart for Ranma to train on them; another bust as far as training went.

As the two Saotomes turned to make their way back to their camp in the nearby trees, they were suddenly confronted by two large men with faintly animalistic features. Before either could respond, the larger of the men pushed them into one of the larger pools.

Genma felt strange as he surfaced. As he struggled ashore dragging his floundering son he noticed that the boy's hair had changed to scarlet. Just as he set foot on the ground he noticed the two large protrusions on his chest. Her chest, she abruptly realized. Genma would have fainted except for two things, first she was furious with the idiot that had pushed her into the water and second, said idiot had taken advantage of her open gi and was fondling her at the moment.

"Baka," screamed Genma in fury as she lashed out and connected square between her molester's legs. He was lifted a foot off the ground by the brutal kick and landed hunched over moaning and staggered into his companion knocking them both into a small pool to the side of the area. When neither of them resurfaced, Genma's slightly guilty conscience urged her to look into the pool. She was very confused as the only thing she saw in the shallow pool was a pair of very large carp swimming among the gently drifting clothing.

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As the Chinese guide rushed up and began explaining in broken Japanese about what had happened, Genma realized that Ranma was now a girl but still about eight it seemed. Genma on the other hand was a young woman who seemed to be in her late teens. Too shocked to be able to function, the Saotome pair followed the guide into his hut. Both were relieved when the hot water restored their original forms but neither was happy to learn it was only temporary until cold water found them again.

They had been pushed into the same pool but it had affected them differently because of their ages, Ranma looked as he might have had he been born a girl, age unchanged. Genma on the other hand, not only resembled what his twin sister might have looked like but had lost a decade in apparent age as a result of the pool being 'spring of drowned girl' instead of 'spring of drowned woman'.

As he listened to the guide babble, Genma's eyes wandered as was their want, restlessly seeking anything of value not nailed down. He noticed a map lying on a small desk in one corner of the room and stealthily examined it. He froze as he realized it was a map of the pools and one of the names caught his attention. "Yes!" he yelled as he grabbed the map and ran outside. He quickly made his way across the plain of pools before stopping next to one that was partially shadowed by a small cliff. He double checked the pool location while he ignored the guide who was yelling at him as the pudgy man lumbered after him. His command of Chinese was lacking but he was sure the name meant 'man' something or other.

Four months later, as a light spring rain started to fall, Genma hurriedly pulled up the hood of his rain poncho but a quick gust of wind made it for naught as that damnable curse kicked in again.

Eight year old Ranma sagged as the heavy backpack became more than her slight form could manage when his curse activated. "MOM!" she called.

Genma froze momentarily looking about for Nodoka and then turned toward Ranma, "BOY! Don't call me that!"

"Bu . . . but that's what you told me to call your other shape when we were at that village all winter," Ranma protested.

"That's because they were women warriors, boy, and I didn't want them to know about our curses because they might have kicked us out," she tiredly explained.

"Pop," hesitantly asked Ranma, "are we weak now?"

Genma sighed again and reluctantly responded, "No son, we aren't weak. I know I used to say that girls were weak but since we were cursed to become female, I've changed my mind." She grimaced and then made a world-class understatement, "Son, girls aren't weak, they are just different. We will just have to learn how to cope with it until we can get cured."

"Ok pop," Ranma gulped and struggled to go onward since girls weren't weak after all. Genma sighed and reached a hand toward Ranma and pulled their tent off her backpack and put it in Genma's backpack instead. Ranma's smile made Genma stumble before she responded with a slight chuckle and offered her hand to her child. Ranma took it and said sweetly, "I'm ok now, daddy."

A few minutes later, "Daddy," whispered Ranma, "do you think I'll ever see my friends Mousse and Shampoo again?"

Genma shrugged; all she really cared about besides the boy at the moment was getting back to Japan. She had wanted to cry the day she had overheard one of the elder's tell another cursed Japanese visitor that there was no known reliable cure. Even using 'man' water was chancy, sometimes it cured and sometimes it mixed with the first curse. Even when mixing, one could never predict what would happen. Take a chance and maybe end up worse; maybe later, but not yet since the cure never worked unless the first curse was at least a year old. That was the lesson she had learned the hard way when he had jumped into the 'spring of virtuous man' only to discover that his cursed form was now 'virtuous woman'. The mental shock had been great enough that Genma had been in a walking coma for almost a week. The curses had mixed; she had the mental curse of the last pool and an older somewhat less feminine version of the first curse's physical form.

Spending four months at that remote village covertly studying the Amazons as they practiced their art while pretending to be a mother-daughter pair had been taxing on Genma but the mental changes forced by the spring had started to bleed over onto his normal form a bit just by repetition and prolonged continuous exposure. On one hand, her first 'monthly' had nearly blown their cover but seeing how Ranma was once again starting to respect him as Genma emulated a caring parent had made Genma want to keep that feeling that he got whenever he saw the trust in Ranma's eyes again.

They walked hand in hand down the dark trail while Genma grumbled as she cursed the events that had sent them to China and this disaster. She sighed as she wondered what would be the final cost of that damnable yattai after all.

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**_Chapter Two Meet the Girls_**

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"You've never met him," said Nabiki in disbelief as she repeated her father's words.

Soun sighed and replied, "No, but he should be arriving soon . . ."

Whatever else he might have added was lost as Akane shouted, "But daddy, I'm only 10 and even if Kasumi is almost 14, that's still too young to marry!"

Tears in his eyes, Soun nodded weeping that the marriage would have to be delayed. He wondered why his old friend was arriving years earlier than expected.

He barely noticed as Kasumi rose to respond to faintly heard knocking at the front door. "Hello," she greeted the three individuals standing at the door in the light rain.

"Hello dear," softly responded one of the women. "We are the Saotome family; my name is Nodoka, this is Genma and Ranma. May we speak to your father?"

Kasumi smiled brightly and gestured them into the house as she opened the door wider, "I'm Kasumi, please be welcome."

Soun stared at Genma as the warm water steamed off his head; "A curse, a real curse!" With tears streaming he wailed, "Oh my friend, this is awful! That your son and a martial artist of your skill should be cursed to be reduced to mere females . . ." He paused as the hair on the back of his neck vibrated urgently. He gulped as he noticed his daughters and Nodoka glaring at him. Before he could say anything, his vision was momentarily blocked by a mallet that nailed him between the eyes.

Kasumi frowned at Akane who blushed and attempted to hide her mallet again. "Akane," she began, "you really need to work on your follow through. I mean, look at him; daddy is already starting to wake up!"

Kasumi giggled as both her sisters face-faulted, hard.

It was after supper that Genma hesitantly broached the bad news. "Soun," he started then hesitated and reached for a glass of water only to have Nodoka block him. He sighed and then started again. "Soun, I have bad news concerning our agreement to unite the schools." He pulled out an envelope and laid it address side up on the table, "Ranma has been called to help defend our home country Japan," he said.

Soun sighed at the sight of a familiar envelope and without a word rose and walked into his room. He reappeared a few moments later and laid two similar envelopes beside the first. "Perhaps not all is lost," he hopefully suggested.

Kasumi picked up both of the envelopes, paused and then handed one of them to Nabiki, "Daddy," she softly said with a slight tinge of anger, "this is my mail. Why did you keep it from me?"

Before he could answer, Nabiki interjected, "Hogwarts? Magical schools? What the heck is going on?"

It was Nodoka who answered. "Girls, I take it you didn't know that your mother was a witch?" Seeing their stunned looks she continued, "Your mother was my friend and we attended the Japanese school of magic together." She smiled in memory for a moment and added, "We had a ball even though neither of us was very talented magically." She sighed again before continuing, "About the time that Nabiki was born, our school was attacked by an English wizard and his army of so called death-eaters." Her face turned grim and she continued, "He hated us because we weren't English and because of that he let lose a devastating spell that destroyed our school and killed most of the staff. Fortunately it was a Japanese holiday so most of the students were with their families but still it disrupted the whole Japanese magical community." She sat there in silence before adding, "Because many of the most talented Japanese witches and wizards had been slain, there was some difficulty in reestablishing the school when he was killed two years later. Since then, the other magical schools of the world have each accepted a share of the magically talented Japanese children to train each year until we can rebuild our own school; something that should be completed in another five or six years."

"Momma," asked Ranma, "why would it take so long to open up a dumb ole school and why do we need any school at all?"

Nodoka glared at Genma who shrunk back. She sighed and then answered, "That was part of the problem son." Seeing the uncomprehending expressions one everybody else's faces she explained, "Our original school was not respected by the others nor even by our own people. Magical education was sneered at even by the talented among our people because we held so fast to our warrior traditions and samurai roots. Because of that, our people and our school were not protected very well and fell easy prey to a magical enemy. Since then our best have been training all over the world and only recently have they started to lay the powerful magical wards that will be part of the very foundations of the school." She softly and grimly said, "Never again will an outsider mock us that way ever again. The next time someone attacks our school, he will be lucky to escape alive." She looked her child in the eye and warned, "If you remain ignorant, you will shame the memories of those who died and leave yourself vulnerable to their fate as well."

Ranma hung his head and softly murmured, "Sorry mom."

Nabiki had been comparing her letter to Ranma's and quizzically asked, "Why is Ranma in my class? Isn't he a year younger than me?"

Nodoka held her hand out and Nabiki gave her both letters. She quickly glanced at Nabiki's letter and then asked, "Nabiki-chan, when is your birthday?"

Nabiki blushed at the name she hadn't been called by since her mother died almost three years ago and then answered, "It's the same as Kasumi's; September fifteenth."

"Ah," Nodoka said, "That explains it. You see, the Hogwarts school term starts on the first of September and your class is based on that. Ranma's birthday is the sixteenth of August so even though he is eleven months younger than you, you will both be in the same class that starts in ten days."

Nabiki's face scrunched up in thought before she observed, "Then that means Ranma had his eleventh birthday just five days ago!"

Kasumi sniffled a little as she looked at her letter. She observed in a small voice, "I was supposed to start two years ago." She hesitantly continued, "I guess because . . . because . . ." Her eyes dropped as she nervously twisted the hem of her dress in her hands while stealing glances at her father.

Nodoka was puzzled for only a few moments before she asked Soun, "Let me guess, you kept the letter from Kasumi because her mother had died just months prior to its arrival?"

Soun's wails were the only answer she received.

Nodoka sighed and she waited a few moments for him to regain his composure. She waited and then waited some more before she finally turned to Akane and asked, "Akane-chan, may I borrow . . ." She didn't even complete her sentence before the young girl handed her the mallet she had used earlier. Nodoka expertly used it and then returned it to the younger girl. "Thank you, dear."

"Kasumi?" asked Nodoka, "May I see your letter please?"

Kasumi wordlessly handed it over and Nodoka quickly glanced over it. She pursed her lips in thought before nudging Soun awake. "Soun, since you brought out these two letters, am I to assume that you want your two elder daughters to go to school with Ranma?"

Soun looked confused for a moment before he wailed, "NNOOO! My babies are too young to leave me! I have to take care of them."

Both Kasumi and Nabiki slumped and Nodoka heard the younger of the two mutter, "Yeah, right! You don't work or help with anything. WE take care of you and it sucks."

Nodoka got a devious grin and quickly said, "Well that's alright. I'm sure Ranma will meet some cute girls at Hogwarts and marry one of them instead since you don't want your daughters to be trained in the ways of the magical arts."

Soun's tear glands shut off so suddenly that one almost expected to hear the harsh sound of water hammer coming from him. "NNOOOOO! The schools must be joined. Ranma must stay here and . . ." He gulped as he nervously looked at the blade of the katana at his throat.

"Understand this," stated Nodoka coldly, "I and only I determine Ranma's future; not you, ever!"

Soun gulped and his face cleared of emotion as he sternly said, "Family honor requires that he marry one of my daughters as Genma and I agreed."

Before he could continue Nodoka interrupted and added, "And Kimiko and I agreed that it would be so providing that your daughter also had either magical or martial arts training enabling her to stand at his side. But since you have broken that part of the agreement, then ALL of it is broken."

Soun helplessly gaped at her before suddenly smiling and stating, "It is settled, all of my girls will go to school with him!"

Nodoka rolled her eyes upward unaware that the action was echoed by all three Tendou daughters. "Soun, Akane is too young and will not be allowed to start till next year since her eleventh birthday is still four months away as I recall. Perhaps Kasumi will be allowed to attend though I do not know in what grade they will permit her to be in even if they do enroll her at this late date."

Soun frantically glanced around looking for something that would enable him to get his way. "Genma," he cried, "my friend, correct your wife. There is no need for this useless magical training. Your son must stay here and marry one of my daughters and unite the schools when he is old enough!"

Genma silently glared at his old friend for long moments before he harshly replied, "My friend you are. But do not ever again speak ill of her decisions or our duty to the magical arts if you wish to remain so."

Soun was startled by these words, "Genma . . . my friend . . . you are different. You remind me of the person I knew before we met the master." He glanced over at Nodoka and then back at Genma before he slumped and nodded, "Alright, if that is the only way it will happen then I will permit Kasumi and Nabiki to go." He paused and then asked, "Nodoka, will you see if you can intercede on Kasumi's behalf?"

Nodoka fixed her eyes on Soun as he waited for her answer. He began to feel a chill as she coldly glared at him. Finally she asked, "And who will take care of Akane since it is not her place to take care of you?"

Soun blushed at the implied criticism. Finally he sat up straight and said, "I will reopen the dojo next week."

"See to it or the engagement is history," she shortly replied. Seeing the anger on his face she cut him short as she added, "The engagement was to unite the schools and right now your school does not seem to exist as your dojo is merely another one of the buildings and not a proper dowry."

Soun guiltily glanced over at Akane and then nodded in understanding of the ultimatum.

Later that evening as Nodoka was helping Kasumi brush out her hair in the guest room, the young girl hesitantly asked, "Nodoka-san?"

She got no further as the motherly figure softy said, "Please call me 'auntie', Kasumi dear." She smiled at the pleased expressions on all three Tendou girls as both of Kasumi's younger sisters were waiting for their turn for help getting ready for bed. Ranma was sitting and watching as well and smiled as his mother leaned over and hugged him in reassurance that he would get no less attention by this action.

Kasumi blushed, enjoying the unexpected mothering she had missed these past few years. "Auntie, I don't understand. You were speaking of magical training yet daddy was talking about martial arts when the two of you were talking about the honor agreement between the families. Am I missing something?"

Nodoka softly chuckled, "No dear, you didn't miss a thing. The joining of the martial arts schools was to be accomplished by cross training of both heirs of the two schools. The joining of the families could also be done by marriage of the heirs as well, but your mother and I added the stipulation that the married couple also had to have magical training as well if possible." She sighed and added, "I think part of the confusion is because both fathers have no magical talent and so have no appreciation for the importance of the issue." She paused and then added, "Well, that's not true of Genma anymore; he does understand that it is important to me at least."

Nabiki chimed in then, "So that means, 'I' could marry Ranma to join the families while he and Akane cross train in order to join the schools?"

"Exactly!" confirmed Nodoka.

"Ugh," blurted Akane, "boys have cooties, 'Biki!"

"Yep," grinned Nabiki as she watched Ranma's face cloud over. "Boys have boy cooties and girls have girl cooties."

Ranma looked puzzled for a moment then grinned as Akane blurted out, "I don't have cooties!"

Ranma leaned over and touched her arm with a finger, "Now you do." He grinned and then dodged her fist as she snarled at him and lunged forward only to trip and fall flat. Akane glared over at Nabiki who innocently pulled her foot back from where Akane had just stumbled over it.

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Author's note: Additional Ranma fan-fiction can be found on my Web Pages.

C & C to cloud dreamer

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	4. Different Perspective

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Ranma Fan fiction

Started - 1 April 2001

Completed - pending

Last revised - 20 August 2007

Reason partial first draft

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Disclaimer: Ranma and all associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. This fan-fiction isn't intended for commercial use but is rather a tribute to the 'Ranma-universe' idea.

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**_A Different Perspective _**_by Cloud Dreamer_

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This is a continuation fan fiction in that it continues after the events of manga. It is also going to be a divergence from what one would expect; in fact it will enough of a divergence to actually be an alternate; probably a crossover as well. (There! That should screw up anybody's attempts to pigeonhole this story.)

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Prologue Words like Knives

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"I HATE you!" Akane screamed. "You are just as worthless as your father. I wish I had never met you!"

Ranma blanched at her words and silently watched as she stumbled into a run back into the house, the tatters of the ruined wedding dress almost tripping her.

"I'm disappointed," sternly stated Nodoka. "Her wedding was ruined; the most important day of a young girl's life ruined by your past flames. While it is manly to have so many girls after you, there are limits on what a manly man would allow them to do."

"Was she the only one getting married today?" absently queried Ranma.

Nodoka paused in confusion; not understanding the question at first after all it was pretty obvious that Akane was the only bride. She frowned as she realized the implied rebuke and angrily responded, "Don't take that attitude with me young man! Yes it was also your wedding too but it's your fault that your 'friends' destroyed it as well." She paused and then grumbled, "You are getting as bad as your father in trying to shift the blame instead of just admitting your fault like a man would."

Ranma stiffened and then softly asked, "Let me see if I understand," he started. "I'm to blame because pops stole Ukyou's dowry?" Nodoka glared, but Ranma continued, "And it's also somehow my fault that his stupidity resulted in the Amazons being here?"

Nodoka cut Ranma off before he could continue, "YES, now cease arguing with me!" She glared at him and added, "Those that interfered were all your friends thus this catastrophe is all your fault. Accept it like a man and do not blame others for your failure; show yourself to be manly."

"They were also Akane's friends as well," hissed Ranma in response. "Not to mention Nabiki's too," he added as his mother turned back toward him her face red with rage. "Their friends, their fault too," he began only to be cut off.

"NO! Now stop this at once!" shrieked his mother. "You are the man. It is your fault. Don't be like your father and try to blame others for your failures. This conversation is over!"

Ranma clenched his jaws as he suppressed an angry retort. He knew it wasn't his fault but asserting that just now would merely seem to validate what his mother had said. Nonetheless, he had to admit there was a grain of truth in what had been said. Not much, but the assertion that he was like his father bothered him as did the fact that 'everyone' blamed him. He felt alone.

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Chapter One Devastating Insight

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The words said after the wedding attempt had haunted Ranma for weeks. Then today after school Nabiki had conned him out of one of the two birthday gifts he'd received the day before. She had smirked "Just like his father," softly to herself as she'd walked away not caring that Ranma had heard her.

Ranma sat in the bath that evening, shivering despite the warmth of the water. "It's just so unfair," he muttered to himself. "I'm not like my pop, no matter what Akane and Nabiki say. Am I?"

Ranma nervously rubbed his forearms with his hands and resumed his monologue, "I mean he's fat and bald and will do anything to get what he wants despite his claims of honor. I'm not like that. I have hair and I'm not fat and I'm honorable . . . I guess, I mean Ryouga, Mousse and Kuno don't know what they're talking about . . . do they?" Ranma paused and smiled a bit before continuing, "They're just jealous, it's not like anybody important agrees with them." His smile faded as he added somberly, "Other than pops, Mr. Tendou, mom and Akane; nobody important, nope."

Ranma's face twisted in pain and he hugged his knees to his chest as he whispered, "Oh, yeah, let's not forget Nabiki taunts me with that and Ukyou once vowed to kill me 'cause of it." Ranma shivered again but plastered a macho smile on his face and told himself, "No way am I like my old man. So what if we eat alike and train alike and both even say the same kind of stupid things and do what we have to do win or get what we want in his case, no . . . way." Ranma paused in thought several long minutes before concluding, "Anything goes, right? It doesn't make me dishonorable to do what I have to do to win, right?"

Finished with his bath and dressed in what passed for his pj's, namely a pair of boxers and the top half of a tee shirt, Ranma laid on his threadbare futon and studied the ceiling of the darkened room. His father's snoring not quite as comforting as it might have once been. In the past, it assured Ranma that he still had family, now it reminded him of a new fear.

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Ranma cowered in the bottom of the dark covered pit, scratched, hurting and afraid. "Pop! Let me out, I don't wanna do this no more," he screamed. As the top of the pit was opened, Ranma looked up into the sudden brightness.

He stared at the pigtailed figure above him as it shouted, "Foolish boy, how can you grow to be a martial artist just like me if you whine like that?"

"NNOOOOO!" screamed Ranma as he woke himself up only to be battered unconscious again by one of Genma's signs.

Ranma woke up again an hour later. He shivered with the memory of the nightmare and his anger at his father increased as he read the remains of the sign on his pillow.

'_Shuu, Panda Sleeping_'.

Ranma was about to kick the panda out the window when it occurred to him that that was pretty similar to how his father had reacted.

Ranma shivered at the thought and snarled to himself, "No way am I like him. It was all a stupid dream, no way was it me that acted like my pop and threw me down into that pit. No way. It wasn't me." But in his heart he wasn't sure, but that sure had looked like an older version of himself despite the Genma type glasses.

Unable to get back to sleep, Ranma crept out of the house and onto the dojo roof. There he meditated until dawn, listing those things that he had in common with his pop that he resolved to change.

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Ranma tried to be subtle in the changes he was making. He had a long way to go to achieve even the start of that let alone the actual changes themselves.

He no longer sat next to his father at meals thereby ending the food fights and he made an effort at manners as well. Genma scowled at him and Nabiki glared as Ranma had taken Nabiki's place at the table. Both Nodoka and Kasumi smiled at his attempts at better manners though, which inhibited the others from really making a successful objection to his seating change.

He made his bed in the attic on a thin bedroll. The narrow stairs prevented his father from ambushing him in the early morning and allowed him to get a full night's sleep on a heretofore unattainable regular basis. The locked door kept Akane from waking him with her customary pail of cold water. While this resulted in less of a water mess for Kasumi to clean every morning, it aggravated Akane's temper but left her without an outlet as Ranma usually quickly left whenever it seemed that Mt. Akane was going to blow.

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It was another Ranma confrontation in the Tendou dojo. All of his friends . . . no, there weren't any of those . . . just his parents, the Tendou's, his fiancée's and rivals.

Nodoka looked at the damaged dojo and scuffed up combatants who were glaring at each other but mostly at Ranma (except for the unconscious male rivals). Her face flushed with impatient anger and she firmly stated, "This! This has got to end. Ranma, it's time you quit stringing these other girls on and married Akane."

"NO!" Rang out from nearly all the youngsters simultaneously. But Nodoka focused on only one response. Ranma had snarled his refusal.

Nodoka cocked her head and gently asked, "Ranma, do you think any of these others would make a better wife for you?" Before he could respond, she continued, "Well it makes no difference; none of them have valid claims anyway."

"Oh really, then where is my dowry if my claim is invalid?" asked Ukyou.

Ranma sighed and that act brought all attention to him. Seeing this, he sighed again and said, "Ukyou, you don't have a valid claim. When we were six, you lost your dowry to the Gambling King."

"NO, no I didn't!" she protested. "I was only six, any contracts I made weren't valid and anyway he cheated me."

"Ukyou, I was only six too, that means that our engagement wasn't valid either."

"But Ranma, our fathers agreed. That makes my claim valid." Ukyou concluded.

Ranma sighed, "You are missing the point; my father had already either sold me off or engaged me to a half dozen other girls by that time. None of them were valid after the first time he did that. You and your father were victims of my father's greed and dishonor. Only the agreements that I've made are valid anymore, and I've made none."

Cologne bounced forward, "I disagree son-in-law. By the laws of my people, you are married to Shampoo."

Ranma smiled and replied, "Yes, I suppose that would be true if the kiss of marriage had been given in the village." Before the stunned audience could erupt, he continued, "Shame that it was given here and that we aren't in your village or that I'm not one of your people so that your laws would apply to me, but that's how it goes. Like I said earlier, I consider myself bound only by commitments that I personally have made and I am not bound to Shampoo."

"OUR LAWS apply!" hissed the elder. "Do you understand? Amazon laws supersede any others and apply everywhere an Amazon says."

Ranma cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Are you willing to so state in court?"

Cologne hesitated as the question was completely unexpected.

Ranma continued, "Since you assert the superiority of your laws, how about if we allow the international courts to decide beginning here in Japan. I suppose we should invite the Chinese ambassador as an affected party. How about it? Want to find out if your village is invulnerable to a Chinese tactical nuclear weapon?"

Cologne snarled but before she could attack, Ranma flared his aura and asked, "Old bat; is your memory so short? Have you forgotten Mt. Phoenix so quickly that you would risk my personal vendetta against your people?"

"Are you threatening my people?"

"No elder, just reminding you of what you risk should you truly pose a threat to me or anyone else also capable of destroying you," quietly replied Ranma.

"Arien!" snapped Shampoo, "is talk too too much. Do as say and no be punished."

Ranma silently considered her for a moment and then softly asked, "Do you know what 'rape' is?"

"Rape," she hissed, "means dead mans."

"Rape," explained Ranma "is forced sex." He paused and softly added, "I consider what you and your elder are attempting to do to me to be a form of rape in that it is forced."

Cologne gritted her teeth in frustrated anger, hesitated uncertainly and then left. Shampoo glared at Ranma, splashed the still unconscious Mousse with water and carried the duck out the door as she left.

As the rest of them stormed out, Ranma silently walked over to one of the closets in the dojo. Opening it, he began to take out the tools and materials necessary to repair the dojo.

The others just sighed and returned to the house, leaving the remaining rivals to make their own way out as soon as they were able.

Ranma grimaced as he looked over the scope of the last hole to need repair. It was on the back side of the dojo, close to the back fence wall. A bit later, just as he started to clean up after finishing the job he noticed a small mushroom hidden in the deep shade behind the dojo. It looked familiar; crouching down he studied it. Seeing the remains of a planter, he suddenly recalled where he'd seen this before. Ryouga had destroyed the planter that contained the aging mushrooms. If it had not been for Akane having a backup for him, he'd still be six years old. Apparently this was where the debris of the planter had been tossed. Ranma estimated the size of the mushroom and chuckled. He thought to himself, 'Don't think I wanta be three years old again either'.

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The fact that Ranma was going out of his way to not fight with Akane during the passing months gave their parents the mistaken belief that they were getting along better. Not so. One Saturday morning it was announced that there would be a wedding that evening, Akane had no chance to protest as Ranma was vehemently vocal in his objections. "What! No way in HELL am I going to marry her!"

"You will obey me and marry Akane or you will fulfill honor Ranma!" coldly stated Nodoka as she laid the Saotome family tanto on the table before him.

Ranma glared at his parents and then asked, "Would a 'manly' man blindly obey others or do 'manly' men make their own decisions."

Nodoka heard the emphasis in his question clearly with the implication of hypocrisy on her part. She stiffly stated, "A manly man obeys his elders, especially his parents."

"Hummm, so that means," stated Ranma with a tight grin, "I should obey elder Cologne since she is the eldest of all of us and I should also prance around in skimpy underwear for Happosai since he is not only as old but the grandmaster of the school. So that is what your kind of 'manly' man would do? Let others make his decisions just because they are older."

"Do NOT take that tone with me, young man!" his mother almost shrieked. "You will do as I say; you will do the honorable thing. Do you hear me? Or do you have no honor at all?"

Ranma stared back at his mother, and then the disbelief in his eyes turned to fury as he snarled. "Honor! What the hell do any of you know about honor?" Ranma's head snapped to the side as his father backhanded him. His mother drew her ever-present katana and hissed, "How dare you take that attitude with me after all I've given up for you."

Ranma licked the blood that dribbled from the side of his mouth and replied, "The only thing you've ever given up for me is me. You threw family honor and my life away when you let this idiot take me away. For that I owe you nothing; certainly not blind obedience." He finished with, "My life is my own. It's not yours or pop's to command."

Genma snarled, "NO! Your mother gave you to me, boy. I own you and you WILL do as I tell you to." As his father attempted to backhand him again, Ranma ducked, spun out of the way and then spin kicked his father out of the house to impact the front gate. The rest of the household gathered at the shattered front door just in time to see Ranma attack again but with chi enhanced speed and fists as he brutally pounded his father insensate. The others backed off in shock as they heard Genma's ribs break and saw the bloody froth bubble from his mouth with each breath as he lay unconscious on the ground.

Soun glared at Ranma. He looked at his friend lying on the ground gasping for breath. He turned to Ranma and then with his demon-head technique in full display, he yelled; "How dare you! Out, out of my house now you honorless bastard."

Ranma snickered as he observed, "So says the man who abandoned his daughters and lives off them like a pimp. You know nothing of honor yourself." He actually smiled at Soun's shocked look as he turned back into the house to get his belongings. He was met by a wall of scowling females. Nabiki spoke for them all, "There is nothing of yours here, be gone."

It was fortunate that Ranma had been considering his options against various scenarios as he actually had an idea of what to do at this point. He jumped to the neighbor's roof and vanished out of sight, apparently leaving. In fact he had rapidly doubled back onto the Tendou roof and quietly entered Nabiki's room via the window. He had previously used the umi sen ken to learn most of the secret hiding places and passwords that Nabiki used. Ranma quickly raided her cash stores, retrieved his 'confiscated' belongings and destroyed her Ranma/Ranko photo archives including negatives and computer discs. He quickly made his way to the attic and retrieved his backpack and the rest of his few belongings just managing to exit out the small window as he heard the small attic door opening.

Ranma chuckled to himself as he heard Nabiki's shriek of disbelief. He set his backpack out of sight on a neighbor's roof and silently dropped over the wall at the back of the Tendou dojo. He squatted there in thought before carefully reaching out and picking largest mushroom.

As he rose and turned to leave, he had only taken a step before Nabiki was in his face. She instantly identified the mushroom and gleefully slapped it out of his hand, destroying it. "Not today Saotome!" she snarled. She grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and snarled, "Where is my money? You owe me for the photos as well. I WILL make your life hell. You hear me?"

Ranma was shocked for only a moment, however, the sight of Akane storming toward them, chi mallet raised, galvanized him into unexpected action. He tossed Nabiki into the path of the mallet causing Akane to stumble as she desperately tried to pull the mallet back. She was only partially successful. He winced as Nabiki groaned as her nose broke when the mallet flattened her face. He then reached down and picked the remaining mushroom and vanished, first into the umi sen ken and then over the wall and out of Nerima.

Nabiki summarized it for them all that evening, "He's just like his ole man; a worthless thief." Even Nodoka had to nod in agreement.

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Ryouga did manage to find him that first evening. It was not pretty and had long reaching consequences for them both.

Ranma was still reeling from the emotional trauma of the recent events. Ryouga was seething with (self) righteous anger on behalf of the Tendous. Ranma was caught unaware as Ryouga's strike preceded his yell.

"Die Ranma! For your honor-less thieving ways; die!" Ryouga yelled as his umbrella smacked upside Ranma's head before he even realized that Ryouga was there. Concussed, Ranma could do little to defend himself as Ryouga batted him around like a cat with a ball of yarn. Ranma ended up rolling through a small puddle of water with his final blow.

She lay there helpless, head spinning and trying feebly to resist as Ryouga grinned maniacally in the midst of battle fever as he realized that he had finally defeated his foe.

Ryouga glared at his helpless enemy. 'It was too quick, it wasn't enough!' he thought. A sudden idea came to him and he impulsively acted on it without thinking. He ripped Ranma's pants off and clumsily raped her as she wept, trying to resist.

As he rose from above Ranma, his battle fever spent, Ryouga realized the enormity of what he had just done. He quickly grabbed his pack and then picked up his umbrella and resolutely turned back to Ranma, determined to kill her to hide his crime. He did not find her as his next step was onto desert.

The search for Ranma ranged over all of Japan but he had seemingly disappeared. The Tendous and others even went so far as to look for his cursed form in case he was hiding that way, but no luck. Ranma was gone.

The chaos he left behind remained; it just fell on other shoulders instead of his.

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The stewardess stretched as she casually made her way forward to the first-class seats. Half filled night flights like this were easy to work as most of the passengers were asleep soon after the airplane was in the air. She paused and studied the young woman in the rumpled red silk shirt asleep in one of the first class aisle seats. She didn't recall seeing her before but then paused and shrugged; it wasn't as if someone could sneak on board or just appear out of thin air so she must have been here all along, but she just didn't see her earlier. She thought about checking the passenger seating chart but then dismissed the idea knowing that last minute additions would not show. Besides she looked so cute with the drool on her chin like that.

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Ranma looked over her shoulder at the mountains in the distance. Her life was in tatters, the final nail of sorts placed there by her visit to doctor at a 'free' clinic that had solved the problem of why she was locked in her cursed form. Who would have thought she'd find Tofu Ono in a small town near Olympic National Park in the USA. The only reason she'd come here was a vaguely recalled mention that Tofu had made about the town before he had disappeared almost a year ago.

She was lost in thought but since her last battle with Ryouga, she always kept some sort of awareness about her so she was only slightly surprised when Ryouga attacked her yet again. Their battle was fierce, both wanting to kill the other. In the end, Mother Nature resolved the issue with a sudden rain storm.

Ranma clutched her aching stomach as she glared at the piglet that she had just pounded unconscious. As the cramps intensified, they brought on a sudden flow of blood from her nether regions. She suspected what had happened and had to admit to mixed feelings; sadness that she had lost the child she had just learned she carried; relief that she might be no longer be pregnant with Ryouga's bastard.

Ranma then had an idea, she thought about it for a few moments, considering it in detail before deciding that it was deserved. After she had made herself presentable, she picked up the comatose piglet and carried him to a nearby veterinary office. It would take more money than she wanted to spend, but it would be worth it she decided.

That afternoon she retrieved the drugged and neutered piglet and carried him into the nearby woods where she had stored Ryouga's backpack. She left a note on a rock near the kettle she left sitting on hot coals.

Ryouga stretched his small piggy form as he woke. He immediately noticed the kettle on the nearly dead coals and quickly overturned it restoring his birth form. He hunched over in pain when he transformed as the stitches pulled out. His groping hands discovered his personal disaster. Stunned he sat on the cold ground for awhile barely aware that he was naked the whole time. He was dressed before he finally noticed the note. It was both direct and blunt, shattering his world.

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To the bastard Ryouga-the-rapist

You took my manhood away three weeks ago when you raped me. I ended up pregnant and locked in my girl form. There is about a fifty-fifty chance I will ever be able to change back but that is only if I have a baby first.

Fortunately you solved part of that problem. Congratulations, not only are you a rapist but you beat your child to death as well. Yes, that is right; today you killed the baby I was carrying.

By the way, I decided to return the favor. I had P-chan 'fixed'. No more manhood, never again any child sired by you. Enjoy your miserable life you rapist and murderer.

Bitterly, Ranma

Ryouga's scream of fury echoed in the lonely valley. It would be repeated when Akane learned what happened to Ryouga (not that he told the whole story). Unfortunately, Ryouga had no idea where he had encountered Ranma as all he remembered were the mountains. He thought that it might have been near Mt. Fuji.

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Chapter Two - Now what?

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Ranma studied the small mushroom in her hand. It was four, maybe four and a half centimeters she estimated. She knew that if she was going to use it then she would have to do so very soon or else it would go bad and this chance would be lost. With only a brief second thought, she ate it and then awkwardly garbed herself in the child's clothing she'd left out for herself. Dressed, the small girl knocked on the back door of the house where she'd chosen to live.

Tofu stretched as he prepared for bed. He sat on the bed and gently ran his hand over the soft curls of his sleeping wife. She was an American physician that he had met at a medical conference and after a whirlwind romance, they had married and he had joined her in her practice. She was six months pregnant and he thought she looked beautiful. That she had dark auburn hair and was with child reminded him of Ranma's situation. Ranma had stopped by briefly to have her injuries tended and he had confirmed the loss of the child yesterday. He was not surprised that she was more relieved than anything else; but he knew she would have to deal with some grief related to the loss of the child no matter how unwanted it had been.

He sighed as he heard the knocking. With a reluctant groan, he rose to see who was calling this late at night. He froze at the sight of the very small redheaded Japanese girl timidly waving to him on the back porch.

Ranma giggled nervously and asked, "Will you be my daddy?"

Tofu sighed before leaning down and picking up the small child who stiffened in his arms momentarily before clutching him and breaking down into tears that quickly became heart wrenching sobs. She had been so afraid he'd refuse.

Tofu gently rubbed her back as he carried her into the house and murmured, "It will be alright Ranma, it will be ok; not to worry, you'll be fine."

The next morning Tofu gently pulled back the covers a bit and showed Elizabeth the delicate features of the small redheaded girl sleeping on the couch. He then led his wife into the kitchen and began explaining all he knew about her. Fortunately his wife had spent a day in his Nerima clinic before they had married so she was quickly convinced of the reality the magic currently affecting Ranma. Tofu had asked a few questions of Ranma before she'd fallen into a restless sleep late last night so he more or less knew the whole story.

"Oh my!" was about all she could say after digesting the misery that was Ranma's life.

A little bit later, Elizabeth smiled at the little redhead as she ate yet another serving of breakfast. "Tofu," she softly began, "this little one looks as if she could be our daughter, doesn't she?"

Tofu considered the question before nodding, "Yes, her red hair and blue eyes could come from you and the Asian features from me. Do you think we might be able to adopt her?"

"Actually," she replied thoughtfully, "I think it might be time to 'discover' a lost or perhaps misplaced birth certificate." She grinned and asked, "Do you perhaps recall having a brief fling with me about five years ago?"

He looked puzzled for a few moments before grinning and leering back at her, "Oh, yeah, now I do." He chuckled and then asked Ranma, "Ranma, Beth and I think we may be able to create a birth record for you. Do you have any preferences for a name?"

Ranma sat back and thought about it. She finally replied in surprisingly good English, "Americans have three names don't they?" Seeing Elizabeth nod, Ranma continued, "I think that I would like to keep Ranma as my middle name and perhaps as a sort of family nickname, but I think my mother should be the one to choose my first name since I will have your last name."

Elizabeth chuckled, "Well, since I know that I'm carrying a son; that means you are the one to get the traditional family daughter name." Seeing Ranma's confusion, she explained, "Not only is my name Elizabeth but it is also my mother's and both my grandmother's as well. How does 'Elizabeth Ranma Ono' sound?"

Ranma happily nodded, this was acceptance on a level she had not expected.

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Back in Nerima, Kasumi had finally had enough. She waited until she was alone in the house and then had contacted her mother's brother, the current head of the Hashimoto clan; she had been forbidden by her father to talk with these relatives since her mother had died. In less than a week's time, she had quietly moved out and embarked on a new life. Her goodbye note was sighed 'Kasumi Hashimoto'.

Akane had gleefully undertaken to do the cooking; at least until she realized that she would have to eat her own cooking as well. That first meal was nearly the last for the entire family.

Nabiki was feverishly making plans to move out; not sure she'd be able to survive until she graduated from high school in a month. She had already made arrangements for a business internship in Tokyo after graduation which would require her leaving home providing she was still alive by then. Afterwards would be university and she had no plans to visit home as long as Akane was cooking.

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The years passed, Kasumi quickly finished university and then entered medical school. Nabiki was half way through her third year of university when she was arrested for racketeering and sentenced to four years in prison. Akane had little use for Ryouga anymore and ended up married to Kuno when the city started foreclosure proceedings on the Tendou home and dojo about the time Nabiki was sentenced.

Happosai was so angry about losing Ranma that the near loss of the Tendou home spurred him to take the two fathers on an extended training trip in retaliation for their blatant stupidity in the whole scenario. Who would have thought that the Amazon giantess, Dowell, had a younger sister who could have been mistaken for her twin?

While Happosai was annoying the elders, Soun and Genma ran afoul of Dowell and Peg; they beat both gals using underhanded tricks and were then hauled off to the elders and married immediately to their new Amazon brides. Cologne gleefully rearranged some of their memories while Happosai left with a bag of unmentionables completely disregarding the fate of the other two.

Ukyou and Shampoo both reluctantly married their most persistent of suitors, Konatsu and Mousse. They then returned to their clan homes and made the most of their present lives.

Nodoka sat at home and watched Samurai movies and dreamed of manly men.

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"Beth-Ranma!" called her mother. No answer. A few hushed giggles led her to a back corner of the yard where her seven year old daughter was playing house with a neighbor girl and they were using Beth-Ranma's little two year old brother as the baby. She watched for a few minutes, a gentle smile on her lips. Finally she called again, "Beth-Ranma, time to eat. Bring your brother in and both of you get washed up, alright?"

"'K, mom."

Elizabeth watched from the kitchen window as Beth-Ranma took care of her brother. "Honey," she said as she turned to Tofu, "Isn't it odd how very feminine Beth-Ranma is? It's hard to believe that her mind is actually that of a twenty year old man."

Tofu came up behind his wife as she watched the children head to the washroom. He hugged her and explained, "While she does have the memories of who she used to be, they have become somewhat dim the longer she's stayed this age, mostly I think due to the brain being forced to remain in an immature developmental state. I've noticed that her mental and emotional age has regressed over the past couple of years so that it now matches her apparent physical age." He sighed and summarized, "She really is a seven year old girl both physically, mentally and emotionally. She may be able to recall all her martial arts moves but that is only because she had written them down and continued to practice most of them even if some are difficult for her to do because of her new age; but all the past memories of an abusive childhood and as a betrayed young man; those are fading and healing as a side result of using the magical aging mushrooms."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding, recalling past psychology course-work, "I think I see, that may explain why she is so fiercely feminine. It is almost impossible to get her to wear pants."

He nodded in agreement, "Yes, she may not remember it very clearly anymore, but I don't think she wants much to do with her old life other than the martial arts which she does seem to enjoy." He paused then added reflectively, "But even then, that has changed as well. She is competitive but no longer minds losing; she actually enjoys the art for itself, winning is no longer so important to her in the things she does, including the art."

A year later, Beth-Ranma began moaning in her sleep one evening; "Neko, NO neko, no . . ." it wasn't very loud but it was enough to wake Tofu. Recognizing the re-emergence of a brutal memory, he gently lifted up onto his shoulder the now eight year old girl he called daughter and began to soothe her, trying to banish the memory of the cat-fist training. Between himself and Beth, the pair of parents managed to smooth over Beth-Ranma's abusive memories as they reemerged, gradually reducing them to vague memories of nightmares.

Yet the memories were not all bad; Beth-Ranma's skills in the martial arts gradually rose again as she matured and remembered as well.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ryouga continued to wander, endlessly seeking Ranma-chan. His eyes forever filled with a lonely sadness as he watched the next generation of the Nerima wrecking crew be born over the next several decades. While he deeply hated Ranma-chan, he strangely enough no longer blamed her for anything.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

__

Chapter Three - a New Generation

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Beth-Ranma squared her shoulders and gracefully guided forward to accept her commission into the newly formed Starfleet. Almost nine years ago Beth-Ranma had completed medical school a month shy of her twentieth birthday; her husband of eight months had been there with her. She would have only needed a month to make the move but before she could join her husband, Commander Roy Fokker, Macross Island had been destroyed as SDF-1 left earth. The subsequent fight with the gigantic aliens had shattered the governments on earth. The Federation and Starfleet had emerged from the rubble. SDF-1 was meant to be the flagship of the new government but it had been moved to another star system to draw most of the alien attention with it. It was now being used as a seed ship to plant new colonies made up of Terrans and aliens reduced to human size. These new colonies were to become the future core of the emergent Federation and Starfleet.

Because of her medical training and combat martial arts skills, she was commissioned as a flight surgeon aboard one of the new carriers. These were the space born equivalent of an old style naval aircraft carrier except that the Valkyrie fighter craft that each vessel carried were space capable. With the rank of Commander despite being only twenty-eight, nearly twenty-nine, she would be one of the more senior officers on board the spacecraft when they were ready for space.

Beth-Ranma entered her quarters at the training base; she quickly knelt and embraced the eight year old twin dynamos that were her twin children, Rebecca Elizabeth and Roy Tofu Fokker. She still missed her husband of almost two years, dead these past seven years without ever knowing he had children. She wondered if he thought she had died in the destruction of Macross city. He might not have known that her incoming flight had been delayed that day.

She remembered her surprise in the bath when she had once again transformed into a guy three months after giving birth. She wondered how Roy would have taken it.

Ranma had shown the curse to the medical staff at Starfleet prior to her commissioning but then the Senior Starfleet staff had merely shrugged it off as yet another oddity of the 'new frontiers' that they were exploring. It wasn't as if they could do anything with the knowledge since Jusenkyo had been destroyed during the conflict with the aliens. They did permit her to establish a second identity for the male persona under the name Ranma Tofu Ono. It was up to Ranma to give that identity a life.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ranma rolled his eyes as the leader of Skull squadron smirked at him. So the idiot didn't know that his female persona had spent hundreds of hours in the simulator and some in the craft as well, that was no reason to doubt his skills. Was it?

Ranma grinned and challenged, "Hey, gimme a chance and I'll prove it. Tell ya what, how about a bet on it. We both go up in Valkyries loaded with training weapons and see who comes out on top. I win and I get an instant commission equal to my skill but if you win; then you will help me join the academy if I do well enough, and in return, I'll set you up with minimum of eight dates with my sister."

Lt-Commander Rick Hunter nervously licked his lips. 'This kid isn't playing fair,' was his main thought. He dithered, "How do I know she'll go along with it and not just beat my brains out instead?"

Ranma grinned, "Sis is the one who wants me to try for this. She said she'd support me anyway I needed so she'll do this." He added, "This may not be what she meant, but she will honor her word. That means an honest date."

"Or eight?" questioned Hunter.

"Yep," confirmed Ranma, hoping he wouldn't lose but willing to keep his word if needed. Besides, twenty-five years of being female allowed the honest assessment that Rick was sort of cute. Ranma had finally come to the conclusion that he was not half anything, Ranma was a guy and Beth-Ranma was a girl and that was fine with him/her/them.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

It took two days to get the combat test set up. Needless to say, there were a lot of spectators on both the bridge and around the flight deck with many active view plates set for watching the duel since nobody tried to keep it secret.

Ranma was allowed five minutes to get accustomed to the controls of the space craft he was using since Hunter was already familiar with his own craft.

The feverish betting on Hunter slackened noticeably as Ranma began a mid-space kata to test his synaptic meshing with the Valkyrie in guardian form.

Three hours later two wildly colored Valkyries landed. Lt-Commander Rick Hunter frowned as he considered Ranma Ono as he disembarked from the other spacecraft. Former ship's Captain, now Vice Admiral Henry Gloval glanced between the two men momentarily. He then looked over the paint markings from the simulated weapons hits before walking over to the table where the combat results were tabulated from the data from the onboard computers obtained from each war-craft were being merged and reduced with the data from the carrier vessel instruments as well.

"It's very close," he said to both pilots. "Lt-Commander Hunter's extensive combat experience was ably demonstrated." As Hunter began to grin, he concluded, "It is amazing that it could be beaten, even if it was just barely, by someone with primarily only two decades of martial arts experience and with only a dozen actual space hours." He paused and added musingly, "Perhaps we should explore filling our pilot shortage by recruiting martial artists?"

Gloval knew of Ranma's unusual circumstances and understood that Ranma was trying to establish a separate life for his male identity despite being only one person. Nonetheless, he did have to consider that Ranma also had all the knowledge and experience that earned Beth-Ranma her rank as Commander. He nodded to himself, 'yes, Ranma will be an extraordinary flight surgeon with this added depth to his/her experience.'

"Ranma Tofu Ono!" Vice Admiral Gloval bellowed, "Attention to orders."

Ranma reflexively snapped to, "Sir!"

"Ranma Tofu Ono, you are herewith commissioned as a Lieutenant (0-3); however your flight status is restricted until three criteria are met. One: you will complete advanced flight school with Lt-Commander Hunter as your primary instructor until you know the working of these spacecraft inside and out. Two: As an exercise in leadership, you and your sister Commander Elizabeth Fokker will be detailed earth side to explore the idea of recruiting martial artists to fill the extreme shortage of qualified Valkyrie pilots. Three: your sister is also responsible for providing the necessary training for you to function in the role of an officer." He paused and added, "When these conditions are met, your flight status will be reviewed as part of a promotion board. The board is not expected to actually promote you but will provide guidance concerning your career path at that point with respect to future promotions. Dismissed."

"Sir . . . yes sir . . .?" Ranma hesitantly replied.

Later that evening in his private quarters, Henry Gloval gently kissed his wife of almost twenty years. Kasumi Hashimoto Gloval cocked a serene eyebrow at her husband before relaxing into his arms, "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on?" she asked.

"I've missed you," he said in partial reply, "A naval career seems to mean long separations between spouses at times."

She sighed as she hugged him close before releasing him. "It hasn't been bad most of the time except for those long years when SDF-1 was all you could think of." She gave a tired smile and said without malice, "At least I had my medical practice and the kids to keep me company during that time."

"I'm sorry," he started before she put a finger over his lips.

"I went into this marriage knowing what could happen," Kasumi reminded him. She smiled lovingly at him and confirmed, "You did what was necessary, you did your duty and held your honor close; for that you have nothing to ever be sorry for."

He smiled and responded, "Well, I have to admit it has been an interesting life at times." He gave a quiet chuckle and added, "Especially today!" Seeing the questions in her eyes he said, "Let me tell you about Ranma," he said.

"Ranma!" whispered Kasumi with hopeful disbelief.

"You would never believe this . . ." he began. She did. They talked long into the night. He was the one whose belief was challenged in the end but Kasumi had an old photograph album to back up her side of the story.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

The next generation of the Nerima wrecking crew gathered together at the Kuno estate and martial arts dojo. Nabiki sighed as she deftly made the arrangements for all the guests. Despite being the de facto CEO of the Kuno business conglomerate, she was also Kuno's personal executive assistant nonetheless. It was the price she paid for Kuno getting her out of prison three years early and then hiring her.

She had married Ryu Kumon and they had two sons, ages sixteen and thirteen. Her sister Akane had twin girls, age fourteen and a nineteen year old son. This week was the twenty-fifth anniversary of Ranma's disappearance so all the old crew was getting together for a reunion.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

__

Various kids from the following couples battling for 'slots' (Ranma refuses to tell how many slots total) in Starfleet fighter craft. Parents intervening on kid's behalf, Ranma caught in middle. Etc. (pilots as young as 16, cadets to age 12.)

Ukyo/Konatsu: (ninja) -kids?-

Happosai/Nodoka: (her 'manly' ideal) -kids?-

Kodachi/Taro: -kids?-

Akane/T. Kuno: (male, age 19), (twin daughters, age 14)

Nabiki/Ryu: (male, age 16), (male, age 13)

Kasumi/Admiral (former Captain) Gloval: -kids?-

(Amazon nation dispersed by damage to homeland by aliens; the following relocated to Nerima)

Shampoo/Mousse: -kids?-

Genma/Dowell: -kids?-

Soun/Peg: -kids?-

Others? (Ling-Ling etc)

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Author's note: Additional Ranma fan-fiction can be found on my Web Page.

C & C to cloud dreamer

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.


	5. Mirror Mates

_A Ranma/Sailor-Moon crossover fan fiction_

Started 20 November, 2008

Completed - pending

Last revised 20 November, 2008

Reason first draft

Disclaimer: Ranma and Sailor-Moon and all associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi or Naoko Takeuchi and are used without permission. This fan-fiction isn't intended for commercial use but is rather a tribute to the Ranma universe.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

**_Mirror Mates_**_ By Cloud Dreamer_

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Genma had managed to delay the full impact of puberty on Ranma by the judicious application of various pressure points over the years. However once they had moved to Nerima, Dr. Tofu had noticed these and gradually reversed them before he had moved on to another medical position. He had told Ranma about what he'd noticed and explained that releasing them all at once could cause a form of burn-out leaving him unable to ever mature.

The changes in Ranma had been rather substantial to those he allowed to notice. His attention span for topics other than martial arts had blossomed into a ravenous hunger for knowledge as his natural intelligence found other outlets than what it had been previously limited to.

Ranma had taken to vanishing in the afternoons and late evenings to read and study in the city library. He no longer slept in class but he also did not draw attention to the fact that he was actually learning the material either.

Ranma had been rather vicious whenever Genma had subtly tried to reinforce any of the pressure points that Tofu had explained to him. Four times Genma had ended up with a broken arm and other miscellaneous injuries before he had quit after belatedly realizing that Ranma was onto what he had been doing.

His self-righteous cry, "Boy! It's for the art; there must be no distractions," had earned him a particularly vicious beating that had left the older martial artist clutching his nether regions.

Ranma's snide parting comment of "At least I now understand how you could leave mom alone for 10 years, since you obviously aren't a man but a eunuch instead, just like you tried to force me to be."

About a month after Tofu had left, the last of the pressure points finally decayed due to the manipulations that he had done over the preceding eight months. Ranma had experienced some of the effects of finally growing up before this as Tofu had given him some warning; but it had been like a trickle over the dam before it finally burst. Ranma thought he could easily handle it when it had been a trickle, but now his (and her) hormones were in full flood and he had no experience on how to resolve the turmoil.

Ranma shuddered as the rush of hormones flooded his system again. He almost hated to change genders anymore. Each time he did, the different hormones would leave his body and mind quivering for a few moments.

Ranma weathered these hormonal storms for almost a half year after Tofu left before finally starting to come to grips with his options. In the long silences of the night over a period of almost a month, Ranma pondered and planned. He did nothing though as he was still unsure of the honorable course.

Then a dishonorable fight, an unjust punishment followed by abandonment spurred him to make a decision; a decision that took weeks to implement and only one night to finalize.

Ranma was alone in the furo. He was the only one in the house as the others had gone to the beach and left instructions that he was to repair the dojo as it was 'his fault' that Ryouga, Mousse, Shampoo, Ukyou and Akane had gotten into a fight about him and damaged it again. Ranma experimented several times, once in each gender ending up even more confused than at first.

Hours later Ranma, in girl form, gathered together the legal forms a free advocate for abused children had helped her prepare and the supporting evidence for the requested relief and made her way to the courthouse. It was time to make her own way in life.

Later that evening, Ranma was waylaid when she returned home.

"Worthless boy," shouted Genma, "you were supposed to repair the dojo, not go out. Where were you anyway? Out for the evening and without your fiancée; oh the shame, you must immediately marry to restore honor."

Genma paused as Ranma calmly walked past him without even a nod of acknowledgement. He started to attack her only to stop when he noticed the faint ki claws extending four inches from her knuckles. With a shiver he backed away.

"Ranma," hissed Akane, "so now you are betraying me in your female form. I hate you, you pervert." She swung for the fences with her trusty mallet only to stare dumbstruck for a moment as the mallet was blasted into nothing by a casual backhand by Ranma. Her confusion entered new levels when Ranma's fist was buried in her gut and she sailed through the door and into the shambles of the dojo.

"Feelings mutual," snarled Ranma.

Nabiki was in his face but before she could say anything, Ranma spun the mercenary girl around and tapped two spots on the back that paralyzed the nerves to her legs.

Stunned by this action, Nabiki was a bit apprehensive as Ranma leaned in to whisper, "The nerve points will last two days. Screw with me again and I'll make them permanent."

Ranma made her way up the stairs in the sudden silence. Hours later, Genma had finally managed to sooth his friend down. He glared at the new curtain that separated the guest room into two halves. He thrust open the curtain only to experience a world of hurt.

Two days later Genma was glaring once again at the curtain that separated his futon from Ranma's. He was wanting to discipline his child but hesitant to cross the barrier into Ranma's part of the guestroom. Severe beatings had made it plain that Ranma's privacy was no longer something casually violated. He shuddered as he recalled the first and last time that Akane had ignored the curtain and tossed water on Ranma. She had responded by tossing her out the window into the pond. Akane had not woken up Ranma since then.

.o0o. .o0o.

.o0o. .o0o.

Hours later Ranma, in girl form, gathered together the best of the camping gear that she, her father and the Tendou's had into a single nearly new backpack once owned by Nabiki.

The note she left behind was brief and to the point,

__

"Tendous;

I can't say it's been fun because it hasn't. Old man Tendou is not much better than a pimp, living off his girls as he does. He is a true disciple of his master. Akane is a bully. I feel sorry for whomever she marries because she will abuse him and maybe even kill him or their kids in a fit of rage. Of course it won't be her fault, at least according to her and her hypocritical eldest sister. Her self-imposed obliviousness is the reason Tofu finally gave up on her. Then there is Nabiki, she should be glad I left before I decided to cripple her permanently. Think about it Nabs, the only way you could do what you did to me was because of my honor. Someone else with my skills and your morals would have put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. It will probably happen sooner now that I am not there to protect you anymore.

Ranma, Grandmaster, 'Heart of Honor' school of martial arts."

Genma found another note in the guestroom.

__

"Saotomes,

Attached is legal notice that with the permission of the family courts, I have separated myself from the family and clan to which Genma and Nodoka Saotome belong. I am now a family of one, myself only in a brand new clan. By order of the court you will find that I am no longer responsible for any agreements that either of my former parents have made in my name for they no longer have a son.

You wonder why I did this? According to the legal definition, both of you are abusive parents. Pops criminal history made it almost easy but the clincher as far as the court's decision was the copy of the seppuku contract. Neither of you cared for me as a person and as a result, I find it easy to forget about you.

Ranma Misaki of clan Jusenkyo".

Genma sat there silently, feeling as if he had aged another twenty years. He slowly began to pack his belongings. It was time to go home. He didn't know if he'd survive but for the moment he didn't care much either.

Nabiki fumed as she studied the documents. They documented the transfer of almost all her secret accounts to Ranma and the government. Ranma's accompanying letter of explanation did little to help her nascent temper.

__

Nabs,

I acted as your 'agent' on 'your behalf' and took advantage of several government programs that offered amnesty for those who voluntarily identified previously unreported income and unpaid taxes. Of course it was necessary to first identify my share of the income but your extensive bookkeeping made that fairly easy for the government auditors to do. Thank you for making all that money for me, though I am glad that the auditors disallowed so many of the fees you attempted to charge me. I believe that they used words such as 'extortion' and 'racketeering' in describing them, but don't worry I convinced them to ignore all that in the settlement. Of course if you wish to appeal, well, they may reconsider that decision; up to you I guess.

Ranma Misaki of clan Jusenkyo"

Soun sat stunned in the living room. He could hear Kasumi in the kitchen softly crying, Ranma's words had hit her hard. The sounds of violence from the still damaged dojo told him where Akane was. His middle daughter was sitting at the table, a stunned look on her face as she perused a sheaf of legal documents she'd discovered in her room. The tears of frustration dripping down her face told him all he needed.

"Nabiki," he began.

"We're BROKE!" she almost screamed at him. He heard her sob under her breath, "Ranma took it all. He went to the cops and took it all. There is nothing I can do about it."

He sighed, for once not breaking into tears. "Daughter, it's my problem, not yours to deal with. Thank you for trying but I will take care of it."

As Genma came trudging down the stairs with his backpack, Soun addressed him, "Genma, be back here early in the morning. The two of us have to repair the dojo and plan out the lessons the two of us will be teaching from now on."

Genma paused then somberly nodded, "Yes old friend, I do owe you don't I. After I and Nodoka have settled things between us, I will return to help you assuming she allows me to keep my head."

Nabiki watched the exchange in disbelieve. She was too stunned to even respond when her father smiled faintly in her direction and said, "I will reopen the dojo after we have rebuilt it and then Genma and I will both teach there. I would be honored if you would consent to keep the books for me?"

Nabiki numbly nodded even as she wondered who this person was who looked like her father.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ranma had found a youth hostel on the outskirts of the Tokyo area opposite Nerima. He had a nice nest egg thanks to Nabiki but he wasn't wealthy by any means. Ranma studied the compact that he'd stolen from Nabiki once again before putting it away. He was lonely but not that lonely just yet.

He leaned back and began to study another of the scrolls he 'liberated' from his former father and Happosai. There were some very interesting ki/chi techniques that the two old farts had been holding out on him.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ranma sighed and leaned back as he finished the last exam to get his High School equivalency. He rubbed his head as he moaned to himself that it was only the beginning as the College Entrance Exams were next on his schedule in another six weeks.

Ranma re-read the three scrolls again. One of them described the formation of shadow/mirror clones and the clone defects that were common. Another described how to impart controls to enslave the clones before creating them or releasing them. The third described a technique that allowed accelerated learning. Ranma sighed and thought about it yet again.

Coming to a decision, Ranma focused his mind's eye inwards. He built an image of what it meant to be himself. The task did not go well and he failed the first few times he tried. After a long night's restless sleep as his mind insisted on second guessing his decision, Ranma was ready to try again. An hour later he opened his eyes to see his right hand glowing a pale blue. Ranma took a small knife and cut the tip of his index finger. He opened the compact slightly and thrust his finger inside the narrow opening. Ranma smeared his blood over half the mirror as he forced his ki out of the cut in his finger.

When the glow was gone, Ranma snapped the lid closed again. Sighing he splashed himself with a small glass of water he had set aside. Once again focusing inwardly, Ranma pulled up into his mind's eye, all that he considered important about being a female martial artist, herself. Because this concept was not as clearly formed as his male self concept and also because much of the two also had a lot in common such as his concepts of honor; 'herself' only took ten minutes to form. Ranma opened her eyes in wonder to see her left hand glowing a pale pink. Previous attempts at the exercise had done much to clarify Ranma's own self concept of being female. Ranma once again cut her finger and spread the ki energized blood over the remaining half of the mirror. She held it closed again and concentrated on the feeling of family and love. When her hands were both glowing a soft red, she opened the compact and shook it, releasing the two mirror clones captured within.

Ranma immediately noticed a few differences. The guy clone had ginger colored hair while the girl had dark hair, a sort of grayish black. Both of them studied Ranma, the flightiness shown in the past was gone. They smiled before rising to move next to her and sat down again but hugging her between them. "We're home," they both said softly.

Ranma's chest was tight as she looked between the two. "I'm Tenma," said the guy.

"I'm Kikuko," said the girl, "and we consider ourselves married to you. Me to Ranma and Tenma to Ranko."

"Bu . . . but," protested Ranko as the two began to caress her gently, carefully avoiding possessiveness

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Author's note: Additional Ranma fan-fiction can be found on my Web Page.

C & C to cloud dreamer

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.


	6. Quest for SoulMate

__

Ranma/Sailor Moon crossover fan fiction

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Started 25 November, 2008

Completed - pending

Last revised 25 November, 2008

Reason initial chapter

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

__

Disclaimer: Ranma and all associated characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, while Sailor Moon and all associated characters are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Both are used without permission. This fan-fiction isn't intended for commercial use but is rather a tribute to both Ranma and Sailor Moon.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

**_Quest for Soul Mate_** By Cloud Dreamer

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

__

Story premise: What if one scene in Sailor Moon had gone a bit differently causing an ancient defense mechanism to activate unexpectedly. This is what **could** have happened.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

From the time gates, Setsuna froze in momentary shock as the command link to the palace re-established itself on the gate control console and an image of the future restored palace appeared momentarily in the time-gates.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

__

Ninety seconds earlier;

As the two unknown senshi contested against Usagi for Lita's heart crystal, a 'world shattering' drew blood and for just a moment the world froze. Usagi saw the blood dripping from her forearm where she had shielded herself, but instead of breaking into tears, something different happened, something wonderful, ancient and terrible.

Usagi seemed to float upright, her injuries healed instantly as ancient magical protocols bound into the line of Serenity and her senshi activated and overwhelmed Usagi.

Haruka and Michiru had finished examining Lita's heart crystal and tossed it aside in disappointment. They were preparing to leave when Usagi's appearance caught their eyes.

"Listen, little girl," snarled Haruka, "Stay out of our way if you know what is good for you."

At these words of defiance, the final stage was activated and Usagi assumed the image of her ancestors, complete with white gown and gossamer wings. In a low voice resonant with restrained power she said, "You have defied your liege and shed her blood; your oaths are foresworn." At these words, the other two scouts fell to the ground in pain as their transformations faded. Usagi pronounced final judgment, "No longer are you senshi, never again will you or your reincarnation or heirs hold that office. Your responsibilities, your honors, your office and your powers are stripped from you as of NOW."

As she emphasized the final word, the two former scouts screamed in agony as their senshi star seeds were stripped from their souls. Usagi quietly caught the two glowing motes and placed them in her tiara for later disposition. She absently noticed that each now contained an artifact. 'Probably the gifts given to those two senshi' she mused in passing.

"NO!" screamed a panic stricken Setsuna, as she ported in to the scene of this disaster. "You can't do that!" she exclaimed, "It will destroy the future, Crystal Tokyo will never exist."

The ancient magic of the Serenity Line was still active and these words only strengthened their hold on their heir as she turned to the oldest scout.

Pluto looked into Usagi's eyes and saw only a pale reflection of the girl she knew from studying her in the time-gates. The eyes appraising her held wisdom older than even hers and power far beyond what she could ever wield. Belatedly she realized she was dealing with her worst nightmare, a fully active Serenity Avatar in defense mode.

She softly asked, "Pluto, are you also forsworn? The kami gave our people free will, have you abused your powers and defied your oaths? Have you used the time-gates to shape the future instead of guarding it as you were charged to do?"

Pluto was actually afraid to answer. She struggled but responded, "Yes my Queen, but I had no choice if our people were not to perish from this realm of existence."

The Avatar's response was almost cold, "I will withhold judgment until you can show this to me then, but understand, the axe is falling, delay my decision at your peril for only I can change its path."

The Avatar glanced around, Ami and Minako had taken care of Lita and all three were watching the proceedings with wide eyes. The Serenity avatar searched her links with the remaining senshi before turning to Pluto once more, "I have need of your services," she said, "take me to Rae at once," she said.

Setsuna hesitated but then opened a portal which closed after the two had stepped through. Behind them they left two sobbing broken women and three senshi who were not inclined to help them but hurriedly made their way to Rae's temple.

From the shadows of Rae's bedroom, the two senshi watched as Mamoru and Rae made love. Pluto's sigh of exasperation caught their attention and the two hurriedly made themselves presentable.

Angry and unthinkingly, Mamoru accused Usagi; "This is all your fault! If you had been 'nicer' to me then I wouldn't have had to go to . . ." he trailed off as his common sense caught up with his mouth.

"Rae and I are 14, almost 15;" the Avatar softly responded with none of the anger and tears the others had expected. "Are you a pedophile?" she asked, "Or do you truly care for Rae?"

Before he could answer, she asked, "Rae? Do you want him? Forever?"

Rae had been building up a head of steam but at the Avatar's question, she paused and then heatedly exclaimed, "Yes I do. I deserve him and he deserves me. You aren't good enough for him meatball head."

"Usagi," hesitantly started Mamoru only to be cut off by the Avatar.

"If you are trying to apologize, it's too late," she stated, "but I have a question for you. Shall I call the police and have you arrested as a pedophile and for statuary rape or do you care enough for Rae to be with her for the rest of your life?"

Mamoru blanched and stuttered, "Of course I care for Rae."

He got no further as the Avatar interrupted and stated, "Excellent, then by the authority that I have, your words and our magical links, I hereby declare the two of you married!"

As she said this, a brilliant flash of light erupted from the Ginzuishou, the silver imperial crystal. When it cleared, golden rings were on the ring fingers of the newlyweds and the Avatar was handing over a piece of parchment to Pluto. "Setsuna," she said, "if you would please sign this as witness, then it will be magically filed in the appropriate archives in Japan."

"But you and Mamoru were destined to be married. I've already met your daughter even!" she protested.

The Avatar shrugged as she thrust the parchment into her hands; "You met someone from a possible future. If Usagi ever does have a daughter, Mamoru will not be her father; that I promise you for I do know my heir that well."

Pluto sighed helplessly, a feeling she hadn't felt in almost 14,000 years; not since the kingdom had fallen. She glanced at the two in bed and then signed the document. After she had signed it, the parchment glowed and seemed to replicate itself several times. A copy floated to the table while the others vanished. "You are right," Setsuna said to Rae, "the two of you do deserve each other."

Before she could leave, the Avatar placed a hand on her arm, "Now we need to go to where ever Saturn is."

Pluto nodded and without a protest opened a portal to the bedside of the young girl. It was unfortunate for their foes that Kaolinite and the rest of the Witches 5 were clustered beside the young girl when the two scouts appeared. The Serenity avatar instantly appraised the situation and destroyed them almost negligently.

The Avatar studied the young girl before her. Finally she sat on the bed and pulled the weakened and frightened girl into her lap and hugged her. Stunned, Hotaru froze but then hesitantly put her arms around the girl that was radiating peace and power. As the Avatar began to rock her, Hotaru finally began to cry. When the moment was right, the Avatar softly whispered, 'Moon healing escalation', and the two were enclosed in a soft golden glow. This glow did not diminish as it normally did after being cast but instead seemed to surge in power several times as more and more of the Avatar's power was added. It finally almost doubled in strength when Usagi herself cast her power into the spell. At this final surge of power, a dark power was cast out of the young girl and she slumped into a healing sleep.

The Avatar absently stroked her head and laid her on the bed. "She will be alright now providing her father can also be set right again," declared Serenity's Avatar.

After Hotaru's father was set free of his possession and the lab destroyed, the Avatar and Pluto made their way to the gates of time. From there, Pluto showed the meteor impact and its catastrophic results on the planet. In the end Pluto sighed and admitted. "In the old days this would be so easy to fix. Destroy the meteor and all this would be averted," she said. "But I don't have access to that power," she said. "This was the best I could do," she added.

The Serenity avatar nodded in understanding but questioned, "Why was the world cleansed?"

Pluto sighed and said, "After the great freeze, there was little leeway for error, the smallest evil could have destroyed us all, so Usagi got the bright idea of 'cleansing' everybody so that we would all cooperate." She sighed, "I hated the idea but it made the difference. Without it, we had less than a three percent chance of surviving but afterwards the odds rose to over eighty percent." Pluto slumped and admitted, "I've searched for an alternate solution but nothing has shown up yet."

A soft smile greeted her when she looked into Usagi's face. As they had been talking, more and more of the young girl had surfaced. But it was still the avatar that spoke, "There is another option, one that is only now available as Usagi wouldn't have been authorized to use it at her current age and power levels."

The Avatar walked over to the gate and placed a hand on it and clearly commanded, "Gate, Serenity avatar override, connect to palace battle command center AI." A few moments later and the gates shifted to show the image of a dim and deserted complex.

A holographic image of an elderly man appeared and a disembodied voice announced, "Main battle complex AI on line. How may I serve Serenity?"

"Hello Marcus, how are you?" asked Serenity.

The image smiled and replied, "In truth, lonely and under-powered at the moment."

"Status and recommendations?" was asked.

Marcus stood a bit straighter and said; "There is a lot of un-repaired battle damage, but without authorization I can do nothing since the system is technically still in battle mode. I would estimate that battle capabilities are at about two percent or so depending on what you want done."

"Marcus," asked Pluto, "please scan for objects greater than ten tons in mass that will impact Terra within the next millennium."

The hologram arched an eyebrow but complied after Serenity nodded in agreement. "There are five," he responded, "four are negligible in their effects but the fifth and largest will destroy the biosphere," Marcus announced emotionlessly.

"Options for elimination of the largest target?" asked the Avatar

"It is possible, but with the damage I've sustained, the only option that is viable in the timeframe before impact is to launch a planetary killer and basically vaporize the object. It is overkill and only you can authorize it but only if another senshi validates the order."

The Avatar thought for a few moments before deciding to trust Marcus's analysis. "Serenity avatar override, launch planetary killer and destroy target identified."

Pluto swallowed, she hated these particular weapons, but she clearly said, "Pluto secondary validation."

Marcus nodded and responded a few moments later, "Planetary killer launched, impact on designated target in 83 minutes."

Serenity sighed and then added, "Marcus, stand down battle stations, go to recovery and reconstruction mode, discretion is also authorized."

The ancient AI gave a wide smile and said, "Thank you Serenity, this place will be looking almost new by the time you and yours are ready to return."

The Avatar sighed yet again and said, "I guess that is all." She turned to Marcus, "File a closure report on the battle, include final status on the meteor after its destruction and keep Pluto informed on your status on a monthly basis."

"Acknowledged," said the AI before terminating the connection when Serenity waved him off.

The Serenity avatar sighed and then leaned back, she softly said, "Setsuna, you are forgiven your actions as I do understand your options were limited." She closed her eyes and muttered, "Only one more thing to do, make peace with our heir."

Serenity and Usagi faced each other in the mindscape of the young girl's mind. Usagi launched herself at the other and clung to her as she began to cry. A long time later she let go and asked, "How could they betray me like that? I loved him and we were meant to be together."

The Serenity avatar could only answer, "Free will is a gift. But some abuse it and hurt others or betray trusts. The future is not fixed but I can tell you that he was not your soul mate in this time line. That person is about a year older than you are. He will start attending Furinkan High School before the end of the year if you want to give that option a try. No certainties, just a chance if you want to see how it goes."

Usagi sighed then asked, "Who are you though?"

Serenity laughed and said, "I am a magical construct made up of a portion of the magic, power and memories of each of your ancestors. I am magically linked to your bloodline magic. In times of great need, I can be called upon to help you with power or guidance as needed." She paused and then continued, "In addition, should you ever be attacked by your senshi, I will activate in emergency defense mode if you are unable to protect yourself as has just happened. Hopefully this will not occur again." She smiled softly and added, "Yes, I can help you with your homework even, but I won't unless you also make an effort to learn."

Usagi blushed but smiled anyway.

Serenity smiled once again before announcing, "It is time for me to retreat to the background of your mind. I have so much to teach you, but it is best that we wait a few more years before that happens." She added, "Had things turned out differently, had Neptune and Uranus not attacked you and then defied you as well, I would not have activated for a century or so otherwise and even then I would only have been an advisor. But now that I am active, I will be there for you if you call."

The two hugged and then the dreamscape faded as Usagi opened her eyes. Pluto saw a betrayed young girl looking back at her. "Why didn't you reveal yourself to me before today?" she softly asked.

Setsuna grimaced and explained, "The only path that I thought I had available to me to save the human race was a tightrope. If I had done anything else different, all would have been lost. But then the Serenity avatar fully activated in emergency defense mode for only the third time in history and it found a solution far better."

Usagi sighed, and asked, "Will you be able to help me to switch schools. The avatar suggested that I transfer to Furinkan if I wanted a chance to find my soul mate." She slumped and added, "She wouldn't tell me who he is either!"

Pluto sighed, "Yes." There really wasn't more she could add at this point.

Back at Rae's temple, the newlyweds were being confronted by the three inner scouts. It was not pretty and Rae was understandably nervous when she heard what had happened to the two scouts who had attacked the princess. Mamoru was feeling trapped. He had just enough of his past memories to recognize a magically binding marriage. It was way too late for second thoughts.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

**_Incomplete_**

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

__

So were do I go from here. In the coming year, Ranma, Ryouga, Mousse, Ryu and Taro show up; so who is the one? Plus there is the matter of the star seeds for Neptune and Uranus yet to be given to someone worthy.

Imagine what would happen if Usagi was to give one to Ranma-chan (not knowing of curse yet). Then comes the competition for the remaining star seed from all the various fiancés and Nabiki as well. Imagine Nabs meeting the avatar the first time extortion is tried. Kami help the scouts and the world if Kasumi got it. Then what would Cologne, Nodoka and Genma try in an effort to get the last seed for themselves not to mention Kodachi.

What if Usagi decided to make all the girls temporary (low power, say from various moons and lasts only a year or maybe a lunar cycle) senshi to see who would get final star seed. None of them know the others-part of test is ability to keep secret.

****

I could imagine this scene:

The folks of Nerima turned to stare as a youma ran shrieking in fear. Close behind her was a swarm of senshi. These minor-moon senshi were insulting, tripping and bashing each other while yelling how they were going to do unpleasant things to the youma once they caught it.

After the crowd had passed, the shop-owners looked at the swath of destruction the senshi had left behind then shrugged, for Nerima this was normal.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

**_I wonder if this scene would fit in the story somewhere:_**

Ranma cuddled the little girl to her breasts; a sense of rightness made it seem natural to her. As the softly crying girl drifted into sleep, she whispered, "I love you momma."

At that moment, Ranma knew a piece of her future. This wasn't the first clue the little one had inadvertently dropped but it was the confirming one as far as Ranma was concerned and it certainly explained where the child's pink hair came from. She was going to be a mother someday. It scared her, actually frightened her almost silly in fact; but she was also looking forward to it now that she was holding her future daughter in her arms. She would not give this up; ever!

Usagi watched the pair and wondered at the speculative glances that came her way from the redhead. Finally her curiosity got too much for her to ignore and she strolled over and sat herself next to Ranma. "Alright, what is it now!" she demanded softly.

Ranma quietly chuckled, a sound slightly reminiscent of her birth form and answered obliquely by asking, "I wonder what your male form will look like when you become her father?"

While Usagi's jaw was flapping in the wind, Ranma added, "Isn't our future daughter beautiful?"

Usagi fainted.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.


End file.
